This is currently the only Imperial/Double IPA that is packaged in a can. I can remember a buddy of mine buying some of these when Oskar Blues still slapped a Gordon sticker label on blank aluminum cans. When it comes to preserving great hops flavor and aroma we don't think there is a better vessel than a can. This beer certainly shows that off nicely.

From the Oskar Blues site:

"Gordon is a hybrid version of strong ale, somewhere between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. We make it with six different malts and three types of hops, then dry-hop it with a mutha lode of Amarillo hops."

Here we go...

Pour - dark honey/amber in color, when held to the light it glows an orangish red. The yellowish head on this is sticky and clings to the inside of the glass.

Aroma - loads of pine, pineapple, mango and orange. This just screams hops. Its sort of ridiculous how fresh this smells, its like it just came off the line.

Taste - tropical fruits galore. Plenty of the piney, resiny goodness we all crave combines with a nice sweet, malty backbone. This is sticky and resiny with loads of the stuff any lover of hops should be looking for when they go beer shopping. The high alcohol content (8.7%) is hardly noticeable and this could easily pass as a regular IPA as far as consumption rate goes!

Overall - Lupilin is alive and well with Gordon. It's big, sticky, resiny, piney and very drinkable. My tongue is tired and my hop sensors are overloaded but I'm certainly a happy hophead. If you've never given this beer a shot it is definitely worth checking out. The hop profile is very well preserved in the can. Personally, this and Ten Fidy are my favorites from Oskar Blues.

Note - Gordon is named for Gordon Knight. The Oskar Blue site had this to say about the man, "In addition to opening some of Colorado’s first microbreweries, Knight was a Vietnam vet, grade-A citizen, and huge promoter of craft beer. He lost his life in 2002 while fighting a wild fire outside of Lyons, Colorado."

A battle for North American canned IPA supremacy! The American bad boy Modus Hoperandi takes on Canada's very own Red Racer IPA.

The Contenders

Ska Brewing's Modus Hoperandi (Durango, CO) -"It's old man bitter. A mix of citrus and pine that will remind you of the time you went on a vision quest with your Native American cousin and woke up in a pine-grove full of grapefruit trees." 6.8% ABV

Central City's Red Racer IPA (Surrey, BC Canada)-"An ale that was fashioned to survive the long voyage from England to India during the British colonization. Hops, hops, and more hops this ale has an intense aroma and a long lingering finish." 6.5% ABV

BJCP Style Outline:

Let's get it on...

Pour

Modus Hoperandi - Nice amber/orangey color with a big fluffy head. Clean pour with nice carbonation. You could drink this straight from the can but you'd be missing out on just how good it looks in a glass.

Red Racer IPA- Somewhere between amber and gold lies the color of this beer. Nice and clean with little bubbles streaming north to make a sticky, fluffy coat on top.

Red Racer IPA- Oh man, this is the stuff. Super fresh squeezed bitter grapefruit, ridiculously piney, resiny awesome hoppiness! It's all there. I could huff this stuff. Has to be one of the best smelling IPAs I've come across (can, bottle or tap) in a while.

Taste

Modus Hoperandi - Loads of bitter hop flavor that's balanced extremely well. You want grapefruit, you got it. You want to feel like someone rung out a pine tree in your glass, you got it. This is the real deal when it comes to a very well put together American IPA. Plenty of hops are packed in to this aluminum package, open a can and take advantage.

Red Racer IPA- Grapefruit! Wow. This is the most grapefruity beer I've ever had (including Pliny and Hop Stoopid). Super fresh hops, pine, some orange peel but more than anything this tastes like a fresh squeezed grapefruit with a bit of malty goodness thrown in for fun.

Overall

Modus Hoperandi - Extremely drinkable, full bodied with all of the IBUs needed to satisfy my hop fix.

Red Racer IPA- I'm blown away. I would have never thought that this beer came out of this can. Awesome stuff!

Winner - Red Racer IPA

Hands down the best IPA I've ever had from a can ever! This is an amazingly fresh, pungent, piney, resiny, grapefruity beer. So much flavor packed into a nice easily portable vessel. My go to IPA for camping and disc golf from here on out.

A true German-style pilsener in a can. This is the beer to use to convert some macro canned beer drinking friends. I commend Sly Fox for taking on some of the big name players in the canned beer world with this one.

From the Sly Fox site:

"A Northern German style Pilsner brewed with imported German Pils malt and hopped with German and Czech hops. Light in body, light straw in color and dry."

Here we go...

Pour - Very light golden, almost yellow in appearance. Crystal clear with plenty of bubble streaming upwards towards a very fluffy, almost chunky white creamy head.

Aroma - Slightly sweet and slightly sour smelling. The smell of a great pilsener has never been something I really get excited about, it just seems to lack something. Lets just say aroma is not the defining character in my opinion.

Taste - Very crisp, bitter and somewhat sweet. The Saaz hops, I presume, give this a character that is almost acrid, I guess that sounds bad but its just very different than the type of flavor profile other hops provide. Its a touch sweet andvery dry in the finish. Great hop presence and perfect carbonation make this a very refreshing beer.

Overall - You want a good German Pilsener in a can? This is it.

Note: Sly Fox runs two brewpubs and has a production brewery. They currently can and bottle their beers, produce a ton of great draft only options, come out with some great Belgian-style ales and are the only folks I know that put on a goat race every year (with the winner getting to be the namesake for that year's Maibock release).

From the great Canadian province of British Columbia comes this rather inconspicuous looking IPA in a can. I'm not entirely sure why, but I dismissed this beer when I first saw it in the beer aisle at my local Whole Foods. Out of curiosity, I came home and checked out the online reviews and was blown away by how great they were for this beer. Needless to say, I went back and bought a six pack to see if it could possibly live up to all the hype.

From the Central City site:

"An ale that was fashioned to survive the long voyage from England to India during the British colonization. Hops, hops, and more hops this ale has an intense aroma and a long lingering finish."

Here we go...

Pour - Somewhere between amber and gold lies the color of this beer. Nice and clean with little bubbles streaming north to make a sticky, fluffy coat on top.

Aroma - Oh man, this is the stuff. Super fresh squeezed bitter grapefruit, ridiculously piney, resiny awesome hoppiness! It's all there. I could huff this stuff. Has to be one of the best smelling IPAs I've come across (can, bottle or tap) in a while.

Taste - Grapefruit! Wow. This is the most grapefruity beer I've ever had (including Pliny and Hop Stoopid). Super fresh hops, pine, some orange peel but more than anything this tastes like a fresh squeezed grapefruit with a bit of malty goodness thrown in for fun.

Overall - I'm blown away. I would have never thought that this beer came out of this can. Awesome stuff! I love these kinds of IPAs and am stoked I can get this here in New England. Also, this was my first beer from BC and it was excellent! I may need to go back and try the other two that Central Brewing is distributing here in MA.

Note: In the States this beer is called Red Racer IPA but at the brewpub in BC, Canada it goes by the name Empire IPA. Edit - this beer is now called Red Betty IPA in the US and Red Racer IPA in Canada.